As soon as Steve opened his eyes, he immediately wished he never did. The pain was more than enough to make him want to fall himself back to unconsciousness. At least then, he didn't feel the excruciating pain that shot throughout his body. Confusion started to set in as he tried to remember the events leading up to him being in a hospital. He vaguely remembered getting shot after fighting off the robber in central park but everything after that was a blur. The more he tried to force himself to remember what happened, the more his head started to hurt. He closed his eyes hoping the pain would disappear but a familiar voice called out to him. "Steve?"

He knew that voice. Natasha. His eyes immediately shot open and he turned his head to find Natasha staring at him with teary eyes. What was she doing here? Her face showed signs of exhaustion He tried to call out for her but instead fell into a fit of uncontrollable coughs - his throat was too dry for him to make any comprehensible words. She immediately shook her head and grabbed a cup of water, urging him to stop, and brought it to his lips so that he could drink.

"Shhh…" she cooed.

He gulped down every last drop of water hungrily then took a few deep breaths before attempting to speak again. "Natasha" he said this time with a little more ease. Steve tried to reach his hand out to touch her but immediately retracted and winced in pain.

"God, Steve. Can you just fucking relax?" Natasha yelled out in frustration. If he weren't already in pain, she would have punched him for being such an idiot. "I'm not going anywhere" She softened her voice and grabbed his hand to assure him that she was right by his side. He nodded his head, relaxed himself, and gave her a small smile which she returned despite the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. She was ecstatic that he was awake even though he was still very much hurt - at least this was a step in the right direction. He was going to be okay and that's what mattered.

Natasha turned her head to the corner where Bucky sat but he was gone. Steve noticed the confusion on her face and was alerted. "What's wrong?"

"I'll be right back" Natasha stood up and walked out the door and saw Bucky walking away. "Where are you going?" She caught up to him and grabbed a hold of his arm to stop him.

"I'm going home" Bucky answered as if it were common sense.

"But Steve just woke up… Don't you want to at least talk-"

"No" Bucky cut her off immediately - his voice came off harsher than he had intended. "I'm sorry Natasha. I don't mean to be rude." Natasha nodded her head and urged him to continue explaining himself. As much as she wanted to understand the reason why Bucky was choosing to leave, the truth was she didn't. It was obvious that he still cared about Steve or else he wouldn't have been there to begin with. It doesn't make sense for him to walk away when this was his chance to mend their issues but he was just tossing it away.

"He can't move on and forgive himself if I'm constantly around as a reminder of what happened back in Iraq. This is for the best… the best for Steve" He gave her a small smile and patted her softly on the shoulder. "Take care of him" With that, he turned to leave without looking back. Natasha waited until he boarded the elevator before making her way back to Steve's room. By the time she entered the room again, a nurse was examining Steve's vitals.

"Everything looks good Mr. Rogers. Your blood pressure and vitals all came back normal so the only thing left to do is for you to rest. Do you have anyone who can help take care of you at home while you are in the healing process?" The nurse asked as she made some notes off of her clipboard.

"I'm going to be the one taking care of him" Natasha answered from the door, startling both Steve and the nurse. She took her seat next to Steve's bedside and ignored the looks he was giving her. If he needed someone to take care of him, she was going to be that person.

"That's great to hear. Well if you have any questions or start to feel any discomfort please let me know and we could give you something a little stronger to help with the pain"

Steve put on a forced smile until the nurse was out of the room before sighing. "I appreciate the offer but I'm going to have to decline."

"It wasn't up for discussion. You heard the nurse, you need someone to take care of you so I'm going to do it." Natasha rolled her eyes as if it were common sense. He was acting as if he even had a say in the matter.

"Natasha" Steve began to protest but stopped when he noticed the look on her face that told him that he was wasting his time and should just accept his fate. He's come to learn over the course of their friendship that once she had her mind set, there was no negotiating it. "Fine but why are you doing this?" What he really wanted to ask was why she was here but thought against it. He didn't want to argue anymore - to bring up the argument that still caused a pain in his chest every time he thought about it. He wondered if she was there out of pity but when he looked into her eyes, he saw nothing but genuine concern. The bottom line was she was here - she cared enough to be by his side. As much as he wanted to hold on to his bitterness toward her, he found that he couldn't. He still cared way too much for her. It was frustrating and confusing all at the same time. He studied her facial expression and saw that she was contemplating her answer - as if she was unsure of the reason herself. It took her a minute but eventually she opened her mouth to answer.

"Because you're my friend" The word friend tasted bitter coming out of her mouth. Earlier she had been so confident in explaining herself and confessing her feelings but now that the time has come, she couldn't find the courage to do so. She chickened out. What if he didn't feel the same way about her anymore? She had given him every reason to hate her; the way she just threw his past in his face like that, hell if she were him she probably would have hated her too. Friends was safe - it was comfortable. It was the only thing she could ask for even though she knew she was undeserving of his friendship. She knew how to be his friend but she didn't know what being his girlfriend would be like and that was terrifying. What if their relationship was meant to stay platonic? What if things ended so badly that they would hate each other? That wasn't something she was willing to risk. She watched him closely, searching for any sign of emotion to give her a hint of what he was thinking but only saw his signature brood face. "We are friends right?" she asked to clarify. She didn't want to jump the gun if he wasn't ready to be her friend yet.

Hesitant at first, he eventually nodded his head to agree. "I'm feeling a little tired…"

"Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up" Natasha said softly before reaching over to turn off the lights. She leaned back into the chair trying to get as comfortable as she possibly could despite the fact that the chair she was sitting on was as stiff and hard as a board. She wasn't going to complain about something as little as discomfort - at least she got to spend the night making sure Steve was going to be okay. Natasha noticed that Steve was looking at her strangely and began to feel worried - she hopped out of her seat instantaneously, ready to do whatever he needed. "What's wrong? Are you in too much pain? Should I go get the nurse?"

"No" He shook his head. He hesitated for a bit before patting the open space on the bed, offering her to sleep with him. "I-uh- if you sleep on that chair all night long, you're going to get a kink in your neck." He rambled on a bit before taking a deep breath. "You can sleep with me." he said again only with more confidence this time. Just because he was hurt by her doesn't mean he was going to let her suffer on an uncomfortable chair; his momma raised him better than that.

"Don't be silly Steve. You're in pain. I'll only hurt you more" Natasha protested.

"I'm not asking" He offered a small smile before opening his arms to signal for her to come to him. "It's the least I could do when you're going to be stuck with me until I'm all healed"

As much as she wanted to tell him no, the smile on his face and the hope in his eyes made it impossible for her to go with the logical choice. You will be the death of me Rogers. She gently crawled into the confined space next to Steve, careful to not accidentally jab him in his wounds or interfere with any of the wires he was connected to. She cautiously wrapped an arm around him and laid her head gently on his arm. It was a tight fit considering how big Steve was but she managed to find a comfortable position without hurting him. She could literally feel his heart racing against his chest and wondered if he could feel the rapid beating of her heart as well. Somehow, it felt safe in his arms. As if this was what she had been missing from her life all along - it just felt… right. Safe was never something she's ever felt before. At least when it came to relationships. They laid in silence, neither one saying a word to each other. After a few minutes, she could feel Steve's breathing slow down and steady. She turned her head ever so slightly to find him in deep sleep. He looked so peaceful despite the tiny furrow in his eyebrow; even in his sleep he was brooding. She felt a smile tug on her face and waited a few more minutes to make sure he was fully asleep before leaning up slowly to place a tiny light peck on his lips and then settled back into his arm to go to sleep too.

AN: I'm having such a hard time finding inspiration for this story :(